Amendments Draft Law On Granting Foreigners Egyptian Citizenship

The House of Representatives approved a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 89 of 1960 regarding the entry and residence of foreigners in the territories of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and law 26 of 1975 concerning Egyptian nationality.

The draft law is based on the State's policy to create favorable and stable conditions to encourage foreign investment, to support the Egyptian economy. It aims to introduce a new system for the granting of Egyptian citizenship in return for investment, which reflects on the achievement of economic development and preserves the country's capabilities while achieving national security, especially since it is viewed that the condition of residence of foreigner in Egypt for five consecutive years prior to applying for naturalization constitutes an obstacle to obtaining Egyptian nationality.

The draft law contains 5 main articles. The first article aims to abolish the fourth category of foreigners in article (17) of Law No. (89) of 1960 regarding the entry and residence of foreigners in the lands of the Arab Republic of Egypt and out of them: Residence permitted via deposits. The new article now states that foreigners shall be divided in terms of residence only into the following categories: foreigners with special residence, foreigners with normal residence, foreigners with temporary residence.

The second article of the draft law amends Article 4 of the Nationality Law and specifies the conditions for the granting of citizenship. It stipulates that the Prime Minister shall grant the nationality to every foreigner 
who has purchased a property owned by the State or other public legal persons or by establishing an investment project in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law or by a monetary amount in foreign currency as direct income transferred to the General Treasury of the State or deposited in a special account of the Central Bank, as shall be regulated by a decision of the Prime Minister. Nationality shall be granted in accordance with the provisions of article 9 of the Nationaliy law. 

The draft law, in its article 3, establishes a unit of the cabinet that examines the requests for naturalization submitted. It shall be issued by a decree of the Prime Minister. It shall include representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Investment, International Cooperation and the concerned security authorities. The unit shall examine the application no
later than 3 months from the date of its submission subject to considerations of national security. In case of initial approval of the Prime Minister's application, a temporary residence is granted in Egypt for a period of 6 months to complete the required procedures and data.

Article 4 repeals Article 20 of Nationality law on the definition of aliens with a residence deposit. Article 4 (bis) provides that the application for naturalization shall be submitted in accordance with Article (4 bis) at the Unit's headquarters or on its website, with the required data and documents, after payment of  a fee of 10 thousand US dollars or equivalent in Egyptian Pounds. The application shall be examined and decided on an initial basis not later than three months from the date of its submission, taking into account national security considerations. In the case of initial approval of the request by the President The Council of Ministers shall grant the naturalization applicant the right of temporary residence for a period of six months, in order to complete the procedures, data and documents necessary for the final decision on the request. The unit shall, according to the legal article, complete the examination of the application and present its final recommendation in light of national security considerations to the Prime Minister to issue his final decision, all within three months from the date of completion of the said data and documents. 

As for the fifth and final article, it is related to the issuance.

The parliament emphasises that the draft law aims at introducing a new system for the granting of Egyptian citizenship in exchange for investment in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law promulgated by Law No. 72 of 2017, thus contributing to the economic development of the country. 

Moreover, Egyptian nationality is not granted by the Council of Ministers, until all relevant security agencies are consulted in line with national security requirements. 

Translated from Arabic on Al Masrawy

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